Twitter teases new privacy tools to give users more control over followers

Twitter is planning to test new privacy features aimed at giving users better control over their follower lists and who can see their tweets and likes.

The social media company confirmed to Mashable that it intends to test a host of new privacy features beginning as soon as next week.

The broad range of tweaks has the potential to rework fundamental aspects of what it’s meant – at least up until now– to have a Twitter account.

“We understand that there’s no one size fits approach to privacy, so we’re excited to roll out more features and tools to empower people on Twitter to customize their experience,” explained a Twitter spokesperson.

Those new features, as confirmed by a Twitter spokesperson, are wide-ranging and address long-held gripes about the platform. Importantly, not all of them may end up being incorporated into Twitter.

Even so, they suggest that when it comes to user privacy the company is at least aware that more needs to be done (like encrypting direct messages end-to-end).

For starters, the teased features include the ability to automatically hide old tweets after a predetermined amount of time. This isn’t the same as having tweets auto-delete but is a step in the right direction.

Another conceivable feature is the power to remove specific followers (which users do now by blocking and then immediately unblocking a follower’s account). Yet another is the opportunity to make your likes visible to only certain subsets of users — your followers, everyone, or other as-of-yet undefined groups.

“Our focus on social privacy is inspired by feedback we received through a series of global research studies we conducted to better understand people’s perceptions of and needs for privacy around the globe,” added the spokesperson.

Twitter sadly would not specify which of the above will be tested next week, or where the tests will run.